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Four riders battling it out for title of 2015 Longines World’s Best Jockey

With just five races to go, Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori has a 10-point advantage over his next closest competitor, Victor Espinoza, in the 2015 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey competition. Dettori leads the pack with 100 points, while Espinoza is right on his heels with 90.

During the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Espinoza piloted American Pharoah to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and finished second in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff aboard Stellar Wind, but it wasn’t enough to reclaim the top spot.

Dettori went into the weekend ahead of Espinoza and ran second in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf with Golden Horn, then flew to Australia and finished second aboard Max Dynamite in the Emirates Melbourne Cup.

Maxime Guyon, the regular rider of Solow, has 88 points, putting him in third place just behind Espinoza. Also in with a chance is Javier Castellano, who has 86 points. Castellano won the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff with Stopchargingmaria to stay in contention as the competition winds down.

The scoring for the award is based upon performances in the 100 highest-rated Group 1 and Grade 1 races established for the year by the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Committee. The scoring incorporates races from 1 December of last year until 30 November of this year. Jockeys accrue 12 points for a win, 6 points for placing second, and 4 points for placing third.

The final five races in the competition are the Darley Classic (Australia), Emirates Cantala Stakes (Australia), Mile Championship (Japan), Cigar Mile (United States), and Japan Cup in association with Longines (Japan).

The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) is the world peak body for the international sport of Thoroughbred racing. Its members are the national racing authorities across the globe which stage Thoroughbred races.

Major areas of the IFHA’s activities include:

• Making and amending the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering (the IABRW)
• Policy development relating to welfare and safety of horses and riders
• International Race Planning and Grading (“black type”)
• World Rankings
• Equine Prohibited Substances and Practices
• Harmonization of Race Day Rules
• Fostering commercial development of the racing industry globally

The IFHA is a foundation member with Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) of the International Horse Sports Confederation and is affiliated to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).